System and method for coordinating asset entitlements

ABSTRACT

There is presented a system and method for coordinating asset entitlements, the system comprising a server including a processor and a memory and accessible by multiple domains over a network, and an asset entitlement database searchable by the server, wherein an entry of the asset entitlement database links a domain transcendent user identification (ID) of a user and at least one asset entitlement acquired by the user from any of the domains. In one embodiment, the server is configured to receive an asset entitlement inquiry from one of the domains, search the asset entitlement database for asset entitlements acquired by the user from any of the domains, generate a search result identifying the asset entitlements acquired by the user from the domains, and send data corresponding to the search result to the domain from which the asset entitlement inquiry was received.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to managing user rights across acommunications network. More particularly, the present invention relatesto systems and methods enabling coordination of asset entitlementsacquired by a user across multiple domains or distribution channels.

2. Background Art

Consumers are increasingly turning to online providers when shopping forgoods and services. In an effort to protect the personal and financialinformation required to complete an online transaction, providers ofgoods and services typically provide a secure network domain and requirethat the consumer participate in creating a user identity specific tothe provider and their secure network domain. This user identity mayconsist of potentially sensitive personally identifiable informationsuch as an address, telephone number, credit card information, emailaddress, and the like. In addition, the consumer may be required tocreate log-in credentials such as a username and password toauthenticate their identity to the provider when engaging in atransaction using the secure domain.

In a conventional approach to managing a user identity within a secureprovider domain, the potentially sensitive consumer information andconsumer credentials are relationally linked together by the provider inthe form of a unique provider defined consumer identification (consumerID). Across a network, such as the Internet, for example, a consumer mayhave a unique user identity and related unique provider generatedconsumer ID that is domain specific and associates them only to thesecure domain of the respective provider, for each provider with whichthe consumer interacts.

There may be many circumstances, however, in which an exchange ofconsumer transaction information among secure provider domains canprovide advantages to consumers and providers alike. For example, theexchange of consumer transaction information across multiple secureproviders can enable delivery of product and/or service availabilityinformation to a consumer that is more likely to be responsive to his orher tastes and preferences. As a result, a consumer may gain moretransparent access to products and/or services of genuine interest,while being more effectively screened from advertising material focusedon products and services likely to be less desirable. Unfortunately, asthe result of conventional approaches to ensuring the security ofindividual online transactions, should a provider wish to sharetransaction information for a given consumer with one or more otherproviders, they may be unable to do so without also sharing consumercredentials or other potentially sensitive or personally identifiableinformation about the consumer.

Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficienciesin the art by providing a solution for managing and coordinating thedistribution of consumer transaction information across provider domainsthat enables the sharing of information about consumer assetacquisitions while protecting sensitive financial and other personallyidentifiable consumer information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There are provided systems and methods for coordinating assetentitlements, substantially as shown in and/or described in connectionwith at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in theclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for coordinating assetentitlements, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram depicting a series of network interactionsincluding participation by a system for associating a domaintranscendent user identification (ID) of a user and at least one domainspecific user ID of the user, capable of facilitating implementation ofone embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart presenting a method for coordinating assetentitlements, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present application is directed to a system and method forcoordinating asset entitlements. The following description containsspecific information pertaining to the implementation of the presentinvention. One skilled in the art will recognize that the presentinvention may be implemented in a manner different from thatspecifically discussed in the present application. Moreover, some of thespecific details of the invention are not discussed in order not toobscure the invention. The specific details not described in the presentapplication are within the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill inthe art. The drawings in the present application and their accompanyingdetailed description are directed to merely exemplary embodiments of theinvention. To maintain brevity, other embodiments of the invention,which use the principles of the present invention, are not specificallydescribed in the present application and are not specificallyillustrated by the present drawings. It should be borne in mind that,unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elements among the figuresmay be indicated by like or corresponding reference numerals.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of system 100 for coordinating assetentitlements, according to one embodiment of the present invention. As apreliminary matter, the present inventors herein define the feature“asset entitlement” to refer to a combination of rights with respect toa particular acquirable asset. For example, such a combination of rightsmay comprise a user asset right coupled with a user entitlement right,the user asset right comprising the right to enjoy a particular asset bythe user and the user entitlement right defining conditions governingenjoyment of the asset by the user. Moreover, and as herein furtherdefined by the inventors, an asset entitlement may correspond to acombination of rights associated with the provider of the asset or asecure network domain of the provider. For instance, an assetentitlement may correspond to the combination of a domain asset rightand a domain entitlement right, the domain asset right comprising theright to provide an asset by a secure provider domain and the domainentitlement right defining the conditions governing provision of theasset by the secure provider domain.

As a specific example of the foregoing, set forth in such detail merelyfor the purposes of conceptual clarity, in one embodiment of the presentinvention, an asset may comprise a cognizable unit of digital mediacontent, such as digital audio/visual content in the form of a digitalmove, film clip, or an episode of television programming; digital musiccontent in the form of an album or music single; or digital literarycontent in the form of an e-book. Moreover, a particular asset may becharacterized by its title, an asset class to which it corresponds, suchas movies, music, or literature, for example, or an asset feature suchas its theme or genre, or a character, performer, or authorcorresponding to the asset. For instance, an asset corresponding to thesecond movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series might becharacterized by its class, e.g., movie content, title, e.g., Dead Man'sChest, theme, e.g., pirates, genre, e.g., fantasy/adventure, and/oractor, e.g., Johnny Depp.

According to the present example, an asset entitlement for such an assetmay comprise a user right to enjoy use of the unit of digital mediacontent, and the manner and/or duration of that right of enjoyment, forexample, through the alternative asset entitlements of licensing orownership of the digital media content, rental of the digital mediacontent, subscription to the digital media content, or time or uselimited right of access to the digital media content over acommunications network. Simply put, an asset entitlement may be assimple as a particular user's right to view a particular digital movieover the Internet and may correspond to the right of a particular secureprovider domain to offer that type of access to that digital movie.

Returning now to the embodiment of the present invention depicted inFIG. 1, system 100 comprises asset entitlement server 150 includingprocessor 152 and memory 154, and is shown in FIG. 1 to be implementedin combination with identification (ID) association server 120 includingprocessor 122 and memory 124 having stored therein ID associatorapplication 128 and database 126 containing domain transcendent IDrecord 127. FIG. 1 also shows that, according to the present embodiment,memory 154 of asset entitlement server 150 stores asset entitlementdatabase 156 containing entry 158. As further shown in FIG. 1, assetentitlement server 150 and ID association server 120 are accessible by aplurality of domains, e.g., secure domains 112 a and 112 b, over network110, which may be any suitable communications network. For example, inone embodiment, network 110 may comprise a packet network, such as theInternet. Also shown in FIG. 1 are user 102, and client-side computer104 utilized by user 102 to interact with one or more of secure domains112 a and 112 b over network 110. It is noted that although domains 112a and 112 b are characterized as secure domains in the embodiment ofFIG. 1, as well as in that of FIG. 2 described below, thatcharacterization is provided merely as an example. More generally,secure domains 112 a and 112 b may correspond to secure domains,unsecured domains, or a combination of both domain types.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 groups asset entitlement server 150 and IDassociation server 120, as indicated by dashed boundary 101. Inaddition, FIG. 1 shows asset entitlement server 150 and ID associationserver 120 to be configurable for communication through network 110, orthrough dedicated communication link 111. The representation shown inFIG. 1 is intended to convey some of the variety of possiblearrangements associating asset entitlement server 150 and ID associationserver 120. For example, the dashed nature of boundary 101 and dedicatedcommunication link 111 indicate that in their absence in someembodiments, asset entitlement server 150 and ID association server 120may be independent and/or physically remote from one another, and maycommunicate through network 110. Alternatively, in other embodiments,asset entitlement server 150 and ID association server 120 may be linkedby dedicated communication link 111 and may further be implemented incombination, through being co-located or in close proximity, forexample.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 1, asset entitlement server 150 ofsystem 100 is configured to coordinate asset entitlements across aplurality of secure domains, such as secure domains 112 a and 112 b. Forexample, asset entitlement server 150 may be configured to receive anasset entitlement inquiry including a domain transcendent user ID ofuser 102 recognized across secure domains 112 a and 112 b from one ofsecure domains 112 a or 112 b. In response to that entitlement inquiry,asset entitlement server 150 may perform a search of asset entitlementdatabase 156, wherein an entry, such as entry 158, links the domaintranscendent user ID of user 102 and one or more asset entitlementsacquired by user 102 from either of secure domains 112 a and 112 b.Asset entitlement server 150 is further configured to generate a searchresult identifying the asset entitlements acquired by user 102 fromsecure domains 112 a and 112 b, and to send data corresponding to thesearch result to the one of secure domains 112 a and 112 b from whichthe entitlement inquiry was received.

In some embodiments, asset entitlement server 150 may be configured toidentify the secure domain from which the asset entitlement inquiry isreceived as authorized to make such a request for information beforesending the data in response. In instances in which the secure domain inquestion is not authorized to make the inquiry and/or receive the datacorresponding to the search result, asset entitlement server 150 may befurther configured to send a message to the secure domain indicatingthat the received asset entitlement inquiry is invalid. In addition, insome embodiments, such an invalidity message may include informationregarding the steps required of the secure domain in order for thesecure domain to acquire authorized status. Alternatively, in someembodiments, asset entitlement server 150 may be configured to acceptopen asset entitlement inquiries and to provide the data correspondingto the search result to the querying domain without requiring that thedomain have first acquired authorized status.

Moreover, in some embodiments, asset entitlement server 150 may also beconfigured to filter the search result prior to sending the data, basedon one or more of several possible filtering criteria. For example,asset entitlement server 150 may be configured to filter the searchresult by asset class, asset title, or asset feature, as describedabove, so as to omit identification of asset entitlements not associatedwith the filtering criteria. As another example, asset entitlementserver 150 may be configured to filter the search result according to acode specifying one or more secure domains, in order to limit the datasearch results to asset entitlements acquired from those specific securedomains. In addition, or alternatively, asset entitlement server 150 maybe configured to filter the search result so as to omit assetentitlements for which the secure domain sending the entitlement inquirylacks either the domain asset right or the domain entitlement right.Furthermore, in some embodiments, asset entitlement server 150 may beauthorized and further configured to broker acquisition of the omittedasset entitlement or entitlements from the relevant asset owners onbehalf of the secure domain.

Although the present discussion has thus far described asset entitlementdatabase 156 containing entry 158 as residing in memory 154 of assetentitlement server 150, more generally, asset entitlement database 156may be stored on any suitable computer-readable medium accessible to andsearchable by asset entitlement server 150. The expression“computer-readable medium,” as used in the present application, refersto any medium that provides instructions to a processor, such asprocessor 152 of asset entitlement server 150. Thus, a suitablecomputer-readable medium may correspond to various types of media, suchas volatile media or non-volatile media, for example. Volatile media mayinclude dynamic memory, such as dynamic random access memory (dynamicRAM), while non-volatile memory may include optical, magnetic, orelectrostatic storage devices. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), DVD, orother optical disc; a RAM, programmable read-only memory (PROM),erasable PROM (EPROM), and FLASH memory.

With respect to the expression “domain transcendent user ID” invokedabove, it is noted that, for the purposes of the present invention, thatexpression is used to signify an ID of user 102 that uniquely identifiesuser 102 across a plurality of domains, which in one embodiment, asshown in FIG. 1, comprise a plurality of secure domains. In oneembodiment, a domain transcendent user ID of user 102, while uniquelyidentifying user 102 across secure domains 112 a and 112 b, for example,does not include personally identifiable information linked to user 102.It is further noted that, as used herein in the following discussion,the expression “domain specific user ID” refers to an ID generated byeither of secure domains 112 a and 112 b, or any other secure domain notshown in FIG. 1, to identify and authenticate user 102 within thatrespective secure domain. As such, a domain specific user ID of user 102may include personally identifiable information linked to user 102, andis typically not used or recognized outside of the secure domain inwhich it is generated.

However, ID associator application 128 can be executed by processor 122of ID association server 120 so as to associate a domain transcendentuser ID of user 102 with one or more domain specific user IDs thatassociate user 102 with either of respective secure domains 112 a and112 b, for example. As a result, user 102 may enjoy a more seamlessnetwork experience by being relieved of the necessity of interactingwith multiple log-in protocols and of entering multiple username andpassword combinations. For example, where user 102 has opted-in toassociation of his or her domain specific user IDs on both of securedomains 112 a and 112 b with a domain transcendent user ID of user 102stored on ID association server 120, ID associator application 128 canbe configured to facilitate network interactions of user 102 among aplurality of domains, such as secure domains 112 a and 112 b, whileassuring that the personally identifiable information associated withthe domain specific user IDs is not shared among the secure domains.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, information related totransactions between user 102 and either of secure domains 112 a and 112b, and not including personally identifiable information, can be sharedbetween secure domains 112 a and 112 b. For example, where securedomains 112 a and 112 b correspond to mutually independent providers ofrelated goods and/or services, e-commerce transaction information, suchas a history of product purchases, can be shared among the respectiveproviders, thereby enabling them to be responsive to the preferences andknown product acquisitions by user 102. Moreover, asset entitlementscorresponding to the goods and/or services acquired by user 102 fromeither of secure domains 112 a and 112 b can be coordinated by assetentitlement server 150. Consequently, where secure domains 112 a and 112b share the necessary domain asset and domain entitlement rights, forexample, the asset entitlement coordination provided by assetentitlement server 150 enables user 102 to enjoy the coordinated assetentitlement using resources provided by either of secure domains 112 aand 112 b, regardless of which secure domain user 102 acquired the assetentitlement from originally. It is noted that although the embodiment ofFIG. 1 shows two secure domains, e.g., secure domains 112 a and 112 b,the present inventive principles can be applied so as to coordinateasset entitlements among a plurality of secure domains numbering greaterthan two, such as tens, hundreds, or thousands of secure domains, forexample.

It is further noted that asset entitlement server 150 is presumed tooccupy a network interaction environment in which provisioning has beenperformed. That is to say, in order for asset entitlement server 150 tocoordinate asset entitlements across a plurality of secure domains, asdescribed by the present application, those secure domains must havepreviously been provisioned with the protocols for communicating withand selectively sharing information through asset entitlement server150. For example, in order for secure domain 112 a to obtain data fromasset entitlement server 150 regarding asset entitlements acquired byuser 102 from secure domain 112 b, both of secure domains 112 a and 112b must be configured to comply with the rules governing the coordinationof asset entitlements by system 100.

In addition, where different secure domains utilize different codes toidentify the same asset entitlement, e.g., where they use domainspecific IDs for the same asset entitlement, asset entitlement server150 can be configured to normalize or reconcile those distinct domainspecific asset entitlement IDs so as to provide accurate data, as wellas to aid in enabling interpretation of that data by the secure domainreceiving it. For example, where secure domain 112 a identifies theasset entitlement of rental rights to the Pirates of the Caribbean movieCurse of the Black Pearl as “AAA” and domain 112 b identifies the sameasset entitlement as “BBB”, asset entitlement server 150 can beconfigured to receive an asset entitlement inquiry from secure domain112 a for asset entitlement “AAA,” perform a search for “AAA” and “BBB”(assuming the plurality of secure domains is limited to secure domains112 a and 112 b), and send data corresponding to the search to securedomain 112 a in terms of the “AAA” identifier recognized by securedomain 112 a.

Before coordination of asset entitlements is described in greater detailby reference to FIG. 3, the process of associating a domain transcendentuser ID with a domain specific user ID will be further described byreference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram depicting a series ofnetwork interactions including participation by a system for associatinga domain transcendent user ID of a user and at least one domain specificuser ID of the user, capable of facilitating implementation of oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows network interaction 200 in which user 202, secure domain212, ID association server 220, authorization gateway 230 and at leastone of trusted third-party identity providers 240 a, 240 b, and 240 cparticipate. User 202 and ID association server 220 correspondrespectively to user 102 and ID association server 120, in FIG. 1, andsecure domain 212, in FIG. 2, corresponds to either of secure domains112 a or 112 b, in FIG. 1. It is noted that, as was true for theembodiment in FIG. 1, although domain 212 is characterized as a securedomain in the present embodiment, that characterization is providedmerely as an example. More generally, secure domain 212 may correspondto a secure domain or an unsecured domain, for example.

Network interaction 200, in FIG. 2, may be seen to correspond to aseries of network communications, represented by communication links 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 (hereinafter “communication links 1-7”) in thepresent embodiment, in which ID association server 220 associates adomain transcendent user ID of user 202 with a domain specific user IDof user 202 that associates user 202 to secure domain 212. Thatassociation, performed using ID association server 220, may occur at thebehest and on behalf of user 202, and corresponds, in FIG. 1, to user102 utilizing client-side computer 104 to interact with one of securedomains 112 a or 112 b and ID association server 120, over network 110.Consequently, it may be understood that network interaction 200,represented in FIG. 2, may be repeated more than once so as to associatethe domain transcendent user ID of user 202 with additional domainspecific user IDs that associate user 202 to respective additionalsecure domains, such as secure domains 112 a or 112 b, in FIG. 1.

To provide an example context for the interaction represented in FIG. 2,user 202 may be seen to be a consumer seeking a commercial good orservice, for example, an item of digital media content such as, ane-book or digital movie content, from a media content provider over theInternet. The media content provider or providers, for example, Amazonand Blockbuster online, establish respective secure domains, such assecure domains 112 a and 112 b, to authenticate recognized users of therespective secure domains, as well as to protect sensitive and/orpersonally identifiable information entered into the secure domains bythe user during a registration process or in conjunction with acommercial, e.g., e-commerce transaction.

According to the present e-commerce example, user 202, acting as apotential consumer, accesses secure domain 212, which is a secure domainconfigured to utilize the domain transcendent user ID associationservice provided by ID association server 220, for example, byperforming a log-in operation. Once logged-in to secure domain 212, user202 may be invited to link the domain specific user ID associating himor her to the respective secure domain with a domain transcendent userID, such as an ID of user 202 provided by one of trusted third-partyidentity providers 240 a, 240 b, or 240 c, which may be an OpenIDprovider such as Google, Facebook, or VeriSign, for example. Such adecision by user 202 to opt-in to the service offered by ID associationserver 220 through secure domain 212 can be seen to correspond tocommunication link 1 linking user 202 and secure domain 212.

Having obtained the consent of user 202 to share domain specific user IDinformation with ID association server 220, secure domain 212 may thensend the domain specific user ID that associates user 202 to securedomain 212, such as a consumer ID of user 202 on secure domain 212, toID association server 220. In addition, secure domain 212 may also beexpected to send provider information identifying the commercial entitycorresponding to secure domain 212, e.g., Amazon or Blockbuster onlineidentifying information. That communication of provider informationand/or the domain specific user ID of user 202 by secure domain 212corresponds to communication link 2 in FIG. 2.

Following receipt of the information corresponding to communication link2, ID association server 220 may enter the domain specific user IDreceived from secure domain 212 in a domain transcendent ID recordcreated for user 202 and stored in a memory of ID association server220, such domain transcendent ID record 127 created for user 102 andstored in memory 124, in FIG. 1. ID association server 220 may beconfigured to then generate a unique data associated with the domaintranscendent ID record, to identify a location of the network, e.g.,network 110 in FIG. 1, for user 202 to submit the unique data, and thento send the unique data to user 202 via secure domain 212.

In one embodiment, for example, the unique data may comprise a tokencapable of being interpreted so as to identify the domain transcendentID record and/or ID association server 220. For instance, a token can becreated using a cryptographic hash function, such as Message-Digestalgorithm 5 (MD5) or Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SI-IA-1), for example, andapplying the hash function to a unique data set. The unique data set mayinclude the identity of the secure domain from which the domain specificID was received in step 310, as well as data associated with the user,and other data, such as a time or date stamp, for example. The uniquedata set may then be hashed to generate the token.

A network location for submission of the unique data, e.g., token, byuser 202 may comprise authorization gateway 230, and identifying thelocation of authorization gateway 230 may comprise identifying theUniform Resource Locator (URL) at which authorization gateway 230 can beaccessed on the network. In one embodiment, authorization gateway 230may comprise an application programming interface (API) configured foruse with Id associator application 128, in FIG. 1. Sending of the uniquedata, e.g., token, and the network location, e.g., URL of authorizationgateway 230 may be seen to correspond to communication links 3 and 4,respectively linking ID association server 220 with secure domain 212and secure domain 212 with user 202.

As explained above, communication link 4 can correspond to user 202being provided with a network location, e.g., authorization gateway 230,to which to navigate in order to continue with the domain transcendentuser ID association process. In that embodiment, communication link 5may be seen to correspond to navigation by user 202 to authorizationgateway 230, for example by means of client-side computer 104 andnetwork 110, in FIG. 1. As further shown in FIG. 2, authorizationgateway 230 may be configured to mediate authentication of user 202 byany one of multiple trusted third-party identity providers 240 a, 240 b,and 240 c. The authentication data provided by the relevant one oftrusted third-party identity providers 240 a, 240 b, and 240 c includesthe domain transcendent user ID of user 202, such as an OpenID generatedby that respective trusted third-party identity provider, for instance.

For example, authorization gateway 230 may be configured to invite user202 to select a trusted third-party identity provider from one or moreeligible trusted third-party providers, such as trusted third-partyidentity providers 240 a, 240 b, and 240 c. According to the embodimentshown in FIG. 2, user 202 selects trusted third-party identity provider240 b, and authorization gateway 230 mediates authentication of user 202by trusted third-party identity provider 240 b in a communicationcorresponding to communication link 6. In addition, authorizationgateway 230 may be configured to query additional information fromtrusted third-party identity provider 240 b as authorized by user 202,such as a verified email address and the username of user 202 associatedwith trusted third-party identity provider 240 b, for example. Theauthentication data, including the additional information queried fromtrusted third-party identity provider 240 b can be received by IDassociation server 220, as represented by communication link 7.

ID association server 220 can then associate the domain transcendentuser ID and the domain specific user ID, such as by writing an entryinto domain transcendent ID record 127 of database 126. That entry mayrecord the association of the domain transcendent user ID of user 202generated by trusted third-party identity provider 240 b and the domainspecific user ID, e.g., consumer ID, received from secure domain 212.Moreover, network interaction 200 may be repeated for additional domainspecific user IDs that associate the user with respective additionalsecure domains.

For example, where a first network interaction including communicationlinks 1-7 associates a domain transcendent user ID of user 102, in FIG.1, with a user ID specific to secure domain 112 a, a second iteration ofthat network interaction can be performed to associate the domaintranscendent user ID with another user ID specific to secure domain 112b, and so forth. In addition, association of multiple domain specificuser IDs of user 102 with a single domain transcendent user ID of user102 also associates those domain specific user IDs with one another indomain transcendent ID record 127, thereby streamlining the networkexperience of user 102 by enabling use of a single domain transcendentuser ID for authentication across a plurality of secure domains. Inaddition, ID association server 120 can communicate the domaintranscendent user ID and associated domain specific user ID informationfor user 102 to asset entitlement server 150, where that domaintranscendent user ID and associated information can be linked to assetentitlements acquired from an associated secure domain, such as securedomains 112 a and 112 b, and entered into asset entitlement database 156as entry 158.

Referring now to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a flowchart presenting a method forcoordinating asset entitlements across a plurality of secure domains,according to one embodiment of the present invention. The steps shown inflowchart 300 are provided merely as examples, however, so that a stepmay consist of one or more substeps or may involve specialized equipmentor materials, as known in the art. While steps 310 through 370 indicatedin flowchart 300 are sufficient to describe one embodiment of thepresent invention, other embodiments may utilize steps different fromthose shown in flowchart 300, or may include more, or fewer steps.

Beginning with step 310 in FIG. 3, step 310 of flowchart 300 comprisesreceiving an asset entitlement inquiry including a domain specific useridentification (ID) of a user associated with a domain transcendent userID of the user across a plurality of domains from one of the pluralityof domains, which may be secure domains, for example. Referring to FIG.1, step 310 may be performed by asset entitlement server 150 under thecontrol of processor 152. Step 310 of flowchart 300 may be seen tocorrespond to an inquiry received from one of secure domains 112 a and112 b over network 110, regarding asset entitlements acquired by user102 across the plurality of secure domains including secure domains 112a and 112 b. For example, the asset entitlement inquiry may originatefrom secure domain 112 b and include the domain specific user ID of user102; e.g., consumer ID, recognized by secure domain 112 b. As describedabove with reference to the operation of ID association server 120, inone embodiment, a domain transcendent user ID of user 102 generated orprovided by a trusted third-party identity provider may be associatedwith the domain specific user IDs, e.g., consumer IDs, of user 102recognized respectively by secure domains 112 a and 112 b.

To provide an example context for the present method, user 102 may beseen to be a consumer having acquired asset entitlements associated withseveral units of digital media content, e.g., digital movies, fromsecure domains 112 a and 112 b. For the sake simplicity, let us assumethat user 102 has acquired first and second asset entitlements fromsecure domain 112 a, and a third asset entitlement from secure domain112 b. Let us further assume that secure domain 112 b has domain assetrights and domain entitlement rights corresponding to the first assetentitlement, but lacks at least one of the domain asset right and thedomain entitlement right corresponding to the second asset entitlement,both of which first and second asset entitlement were originallyacquired from secure domain 112 a.

Moreover, it should be understood that because secure domains 112 a and112 b are designed to provide security for the sensitive financial orpersonally identifiable information provided by user 102 in the courseof an e-commerce transaction, neither of secure domains 112 a and 112 bdirectly shares transaction information concerning user 102 with theother. As a result, secure domain 112 a has transaction informationregarding acquisition of the first asset entitlement and the secondasset entitlement by user 102, but is typically unaware of thetransaction through which user 102 has acquired the third assetentitlement from secure domain 112 b. Analogously, secure domain 112 bwould typically be ignorant of acquisition by user 102 of the first andsecond asset entitlements from secure domain 112 a. Thus, step 310 cancorrespond to receipt by asset entitlement server 150 of an inquiry fromsecure domain 112 b regarding any asset entitlement acquisitions by user102 across the plurality of secure domains including secure domain 112 aand secure domain 112 b.

Continuing with step 320 in FIG. 3, and continuing to refer as well toFIG. 1, step 320 of flowchart 300 comprises searching asset entitlementdatabase 156, wherein entry 158 of asset entitlement database 156 linksthe domain transcendent user ID of user 102 and at least one assetentitlement acquired by user 102 from any of the plurality of domainsincluding secure domains 112 a and 112 b. Step 320, like earlier step310, may be performed by asset entitlement server 150 under the controlof processor 152, for example. In one embodiment, step 320 maycorrespond to a direct search of entries in asset entitlement database156 according to the domain transcendent user ID, so as to identify onlythose asset entitlements linked to the domain transcendent user ID ofuser 102 from the among the entries in asset entitlement database 156.

Moving on to step 330 in FIG. 3, step 330 of flowchart 300 comprisesgenerating a search result identifying the asset entitlements acquiredby user 102 from the plurality of domains including secure domains 112 aand 112 b. Once again, step 330 may be performed by asset entitlementserver 150 under the control of processor 152. According to the specificexample developed by reference to step 310 above, the search of step 320would result in generation of a search result identifying the first andsecond asset entitlements, e.g., those acquired by user 102 from securedomain 112 a, and the third asset entitlement, e.g., the one assetentitlement acquired by user 102 from secure domain 112 b, from whichthe asset entitlement inquiry was received.

In some embodiments, a method for coordinating asset entitlements acrossa plurality of domains may include filtering the search result accordingto any of several filtering criteria. For example, asset entitlementserver 150 may be configured to filter the search result by asset class,asset title, or asset feature, as described previously, so as to omitidentification of asset entitlements not associated with the filteringcriteria. In addition, or alternatively, asset entitlement server 150may be configured to filter the search result in order to omitidentification of an asset entitlement acquired by user 102 for whichthe inquiring domain, e.g., secure domain 112 b, lacks at least one of adomain asset right and a domain entitlement right corresponding to theomitted asset entitlement. Such a filtering process is represented bystep 340 of flowchart 300, and may be performed by asset entitlementserver 150 controlled by processor 152. Consistent with the presentexample the filtering step of 340 would result in omission from thesearch result generated in step 330 of the second asset entitlementacquired from secure domain 112 a, due to the lack of at least one ofthe domain asset right and the domain entitlement right corresponding tothe second asset entitlement being held by secure domain 112 b. Inaddition, or alternatively, in some embodiments, the asset entitlementsacquired directly from the inquiring domain may be filtered and omitted,in which case the present search result would be further filtered toomit the third asset entitlement, acquired by user 102 from securedomain 112 b.

Proceeding to step 350 in FIG. 3, step 350 of flowchart 300 comprisessending data corresponding to the search result to the domain from whichthe asset entitlement inquiry was received. Once again, step 350 may beperformed by asset entitlement server 150 under the control of processor152. According to the present exemplary method, step 350 corresponds tosending data by asset entitlement server 150 to secure domain 112 binforming secure domain 112 b of the acquisition of the first assetentitlement by user 102, but omitting information concerning acquisitionof the second asset entitlement by user 102, for which secure domain 112b lacks at least one of the corresponding domain asset right and thecorresponding domain entitlement right.

It is reiterated that although the present example characterizes domains112 a and 112 b as secure domains, that characterization is not intendedto be limiting. More generally, domains 112 a and 112 b may correspondto secure domains, unsecured domains, or a combination of both domaintypes. Moreover, and as further discussed above, in some embodiments ofthe present invention, domains 112 a and 112 b may comprise authorizeddomains, e.g., domains identified by system 100 as eligible to send anasset entitlement inquiry and to receive data corresponding to a searchresult in response. In those embodiments, when asset entitlement server150 receives an asset entitlement inquiry from a domain that has notpreviously been authorized to make the inquiry and/or receive the datacorresponding to the search result, e.g., not an authorized domain,asset entitlement server 150 may be further configured to send a messageto the domain indicating that the received asset entitlement inquiry isinvalid. In addition, in some embodiments, such an invalidity messagemay include information regarding the steps required of the inquiringdomain in order for that domain to acquire authorized status.Alternatively, in some embodiments, asset entitlement server 150 may beconfigured to accept open asset entitlement inquiries and to provide thedata corresponding to the search result to the querying domain withoutrequiring that the domain have first acquired authorized status.

In some embodiments, the method of flowchart 300 may further comprisereconciling distinct domain specific IDs of an asset entitlement acrossthe plurality of domains before sending the data corresponding to thesearch result in step 350, thereby enabling interpretation of the databy the domain from which the asset entitlement inquiry was received instep 310. As previously explained, where different domains utilizedifferent and domain specific IDs for the same asset entitlement, assetentitlement server 150, in FIG. 1, can be configured to normalize orreconcile those distinct domain specific asset entitlement IDs so as toprovide accurate search data, as well as to aid in enablinginterpretation of that data by the domain receiving it.

Continuing to step 360 in FIG. 3, step 360 of flowchart 300 comprisesoffering to broker an acquisition of the domain asset right and/or thedomain entitlement right corresponding to the omitted asset entitlementon behalf of the inquiring domain. Step 360 may be performed by assetentitlement server 150 under the control of processor 152, andcorresponds to an offer to broker acquisition of the domain asset rightand/or the domain entitlement right corresponding to the second assetentitlement on behalf of secure domain 112 b. Referring to step 370 ofFIG. 3, the present method may further comprise the step of brokeringacquisition of the relevant domain asset right and/or the domainentitlement right corresponding to the second asset entitlement ifsecure domain 112 b accepts the offer extended in step 360. For example,asset entitlement server 150 may be configured to mediate licensing ofdomain rights corresponding to a variety of asset entitlements from theasset entitlement owners or their authorized agents.

Thus, a system and method for coordinating asset entitlements has beendescribed. From the above description of the invention it is manifestthat various techniques can be used for implementing the concepts of thepresent invention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while theinvention has been described with specific reference to certainembodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize thatchanges can be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand the scope of the invention. It should also be understood that theinvention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein,but is capable of many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutionswithout departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A system for coordinating asset entitlements across a plurality ofdomains, each of the domains configured to associate users withrespective domain specific user identifications (IDs) unique to thatdomain, the system comprising: a server including a processor and amemory, the server accessible by the plurality of domains over anetwork; an asset entitlement database searchable by the server, whereinan entry of the asset entitlement database links a domain transcendentuser ID of a user and at least one asset entitlement acquired by theuser from any of the plurality of domains; the server configured to:receive an asset entitlement inquiry including a domain specific user IDof the user associated with the domain transcendent user ID from one ofthe plurality of domains; search the asset entitlement database forasset entitlements acquired by the user from any of the plurality ofdomains; generate a search result identifying the asset entitlementsacquired by the user from the plurality of domains; and send a datacorresponding to the search result to the one of the plurality ofdomains.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of domainscomprise secure domains.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one ofthe plurality of domains to which the data corresponding to the searchresult is sent comprises an authorized domain.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the domain transcendent user ID comprises an ID generated by atrusted third-party identity provider.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereinthe server is further configured to identify the one of the plurality ofdomains as authorized to submit the asset entitlement inquiry beforesending the data corresponding to the search result.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one asset entitlement acquired by the usercorresponds to an asset selected from one of digital movie content,digital music content, and digital literary content.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the asset entitlements comprise combinations of a userasset right and a user entitlement right, the user asset rightcomprising the right to enjoy an asset by the user and the userentitlement right defining conditions governing enjoyment of the assetby the user.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the asset entitlementscomprise combinations of a user asset right and a user entitlementright, the user asset right comprising the right to enjoy an asset bythe user and the user entitlement right defining conditions governingenjoyment of the asset by the user, the conditions selected from one oflicensing of the asset by the user, rental of the asset by the user, andsubscription to the asset by the user.
 9. The system of claim 1, whereinthe asset entitlements correspond to combinations of a domain assetright and a domain entitlement right, the domain asset right comprisingthe right to provide an asset by a domain and the domain entitlementright defining conditions governing provision of the asset by thedomain.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the asset entitlementscorrespond to combinations of a domain asset right and a domainentitlement right, the domain asset right comprising the right toprovide an asset by a domain and the domain entitlement right definingconditions governing provision of the asset by the domain, theconditions selected from one of sale of the asset by the domain, rentalof the asset by the domain, and transmission of the asset by the domainover the network.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the server isfurther configured to filter the search result before sending the datain order to omit identification of an asset entitlement acquired by theuser for which the one of the plurality of domains lacks at least one ofa domain asset right and a domain entitlement right corresponding to theomitted asset entitlement.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the serveris further configured to: filter the search result before sending thedata in order to omit identification of an asset entitlement acquired bythe user for which the one of the plurality of domains lacks at leastone of a domain asset right and a domain entitlement right correspondingto the omitted asset entitlement; and offer to broker an acquisition ofthe at least one of the domain asset right and the domain entitlementright corresponding to the omitted asset entitlement on behalf of theone of the plurality of domains.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein theserver is further configured to: filter the search result before sendingthe data in order to omit identification of an asset entitlementacquired by the user for which the one of the plurality of domains lacksat least one of a domain asset right and a domain entitlement rightcorresponding to the omitted asset entitlement; offer to broker anacquisition of the at least one of the domain asset right and the domainentitlement right corresponding to the omitted asset entitlement onbehalf of the one of the plurality of domains; and broker theacquisition if the one of the plurality of domains accepts the offer.14. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured tofilter the search result according to an asset class specified in theasset entitlement inquiry before sending the data, in order to omitidentification of asset entitlements not included in the asset class.15. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured tofilter the search result according to an asset title specified in theasset entitlement inquiry before sending the data, in order to omitidentification of asset entitlements not associated with the assettitle.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is furtherconfigured to filter the search result according to an asset featurespecified in the asset entitlement inquiry before sending the data inorder to omit identification of asset entitlements not relating to theasset feature, wherein the asset feature is one of a themecharacterizing the asset, a genre of the asset, and a performercorresponding to the asset.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein theserver is further configured to reconcile distinct domain specific IDsof an asset entitlement across the plurality of domains before sendingthe data corresponding to the search result, thereby enablinginterpretation of the data by the one of the plurality of domains.
 18. Amethod for use by a system accessible to a plurality of domains tocoordinate asset entitlements across the plurality of domains, each ofthe domains configured to associate users with respective domainspecific user identifications (IDs) unique to that domain, the methodcomprising: receiving an asset entitlement inquiry including a domainspecific user ID of a user associated with a domain transcendent user IDof the user across the plurality of domains from one of the plurality ofdomains; searching an asset entitlement database, wherein an entry ofthe asset entitlement database links the domain transcendent user ID andat least one asset entitlement acquired by the user from any of theplurality of domains; generating a search result identifying the assetentitlements acquired by the user from the plurality of domains; andsending a data corresponding to the search result to the one of theplurality of domains.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the pluralityof domains comprise secure domains.
 20. The method of claim 18, whereinthe one of the plurality of domains to which the data corresponding tothe search result is sent comprises an authorized domain.
 21. The methodof claim 18, wherein the domain transcendent user ID comprises an IDgenerated by a trusted third-party identity provider.
 22. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising identifying the one of the plurality ofdomains as authorized to submit the asset entitlement inquiry beforesending the data corresponding to the search result.
 23. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the at least one asset entitlement acquired by theuser corresponds to an asset selected from one of digital movie content,digital music content, and digital literary content.
 24. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the asset entitlements comprise combinations of a userasset right and a user entitlement right, the user asset rightcomprising the right to enjoy an asset by the user and the userentitlement right defining conditions governing enjoyment of the assetby the user.
 25. The method of claim 18, wherein the asset entitlementscomprise combinations of a user asset right and a user entitlementright, the user asset right comprising the right to enjoy an asset bythe user and the user entitlement right defining conditions governingenjoyment of the asset by the user, the conditions selected from one oflicensing of the asset by the user, rental of the asset by the user, andsubscription to the asset by the user.
 26. The method of claim 18,wherein the asset entitlements correspond to combinations of a domainasset right and a domain entitlement right, the domain asset rightcomprising the right to provide an asset by a domain and the domainentitlement right defining conditions governing provision of the assetby the domain.
 27. The method of claim 18, wherein the assetentitlements correspond to combinations of a domain asset right and adomain entitlement right, the domain asset right comprising the right toprovide an asset by a domain and the domain entitlement right definingconditions governing provision of the asset by the domain, theconditions selected from one of sale of the asset by the domain, rentalof the asset by the domain, and transmission of the asset by the domainover a network.
 28. The method of claim 18, further comprising filteringthe search result before sending the data in order to omitidentification of an asset entitlement acquired by the user for whichthe one of the plurality of domains lacks at least one of a domain assetright and a domain entitlement right corresponding to the omitted assetentitlement.
 29. The method of claim 18, further comprising: filteringthe search result before sending the data in order to omitidentification of an asset entitlement acquired by the user for whichthe one of the plurality of domains lacks at least one of a domain assetright and a domain entitlement right corresponding to the omitted assetentitlement; and offering to broker an acquisition of the at least oneof the domain asset right and the domain entitlement right correspondingto the omitted asset entitlement on behalf of the one of the pluralityof domains.
 30. The method of claim 18, further comprising: filteringthe search result before sending the data in order to omitidentification of an asset entitlement acquired by the user for whichthe one of the plurality of domains lacks at least one of a domain assetright and a domain entitlement right corresponding to the omitted assetentitlement; offering to broker an acquisition of the at least one ofthe domain asset right and the domain entitlement right corresponding tothe omitted asset entitlement on behalf of the one of the plurality ofdomains; and brokering the acquisition if the offering is accepted bythe one of the plurality of domains.
 31. The method of claim 18, furthercomprising filtering the search result according to an asset classspecified in the asset entitlement inquiry before sending the data, inorder to omit identification of asset entitlements not included in theasset class.
 32. The method of claim 18, further comprising filteringthe search result according to an asset title specified in the assetentitlement inquiry before sending the data, in order to omitidentification of asset entitlements not associated with the assettitle.
 33. The method of claim 18, further comprising filtering thesearch result according to an asset feature specified in the assetentitlement inquiry before sending the data in order to omitidentification of asset entitlements not relating to the asset feature,wherein the asset feature is one of a theme characterizing the asset, agenre of the asset, and a performer corresponding to the asset.
 34. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising reconciling distinct domainspecific IDs of an asset entitlement across the plurality of domainsbefore sending the data corresponding to the search result, therebyenabling interpretation of the data by the one of the plurality ofdomains.